Various techniques and apparatuses are known in the art for treating atmospheric conditions by electrical means. Introduction of electrical methods for weather control and modification instead of using chemical agents or fuel combustion has perfect ecological properties and offers very promising perspectives. Apparatuses called air ionizers induce or rearrange spatial charges and/or convective flows of ionized air in the atmosphere over a target earth surface area that results in changing the phase state of atmospheric water.
The most advanced atmospheric ionizers generate ion flow by producing a corona discharge in an electrical conductor. Early versions of such devices comprised separate conductors extended for a long distance over a ground surface. Said conductors had insignificant effect on the atmospheric formations because of incapability to induce focused ion flows and/or large spatial charges in the atmosphere. A series of improvements led to development of ionizers that had more compact sizes and were capable to generate directional ionized air flows and to cause more effective changes in the atmospheric conditions within a specified area. Weather modification methods can be used for solving different weather problems (artificial initiation of precipitation, dispersal of fog or mist, pumping up surface air etc.) and should take into account the changeable weather conditions and the behaviour of atmospheric processes. To solve various weather problems it is required to use air ionizers with capability of adjustment of the created ion flow parameters, e.g. density, directivity ratio, stability etc.
A typical ionizer comprises a ion generator supplied with, as a minimum, two electrodes: an ionizing electrode (electron emitter) generally consisting of an electrical conductor of a small cross-section, and a ground electrode, which can be executed in different versions. The conductors are mounted on a supporting frame in such a way that they are above a ground surface. The ionizer comprises a control unit to control a voltage potential on the electrodes. Advanced versions of ion generators include auxiliary electrodes, in particular, an extracting electrode consisting of an electrical conductor enabling continuous drain flow of electrons and ions from the ionizing electrode and causing persistent ion flow into the atmosphere.
The ionizer described in the Russian patent RU 2090057 is among the first successful apparatuses generating upward ion flow into the atmosphere. Said ionizer comprises working cells; each cell is supplied with an ionizing electrode and a ground electrode, positioned in its entirety in parallel planes within each one cell so that some cells are horizontal and others are vertical or tilted. The generator can also include an extractor, e.g. an electrostatic or another device. For more efficiency said generator can be supplied with an ion flow humidifier and/or air blower to further adjust ion flow rate and/or intensity. Directional properties of the ionized air flow depend on design features and mutual alignment of the electrodes. An alternative structure of said ion generator is shown in FIG. 3 of the document under consideration. Said design is a prototype for a number of follow-up developments.
Besides compact sizes and general efficiency in producing the directional ion flow, said generator has a braced structure with no capability of operational adjustment of the spatial position of working cells of said ionizer that is required for further controlling the characteristics of the produced ion flow.
The Russian patent RU 2297758 describes an ionizer that can contain an additional electrode-extractor besides an ionizing electrode and a ground electrode. Said ionizer has all three electrodes positioned in parallel planes and at equal distances from each other, just as in the patent RU 2090057, but differs from the latter in that its emitter is made in the form of a cube with the edges of a specified length. Said cube is composed of lateral faces placed vertically and a bottom face placed horizontally, and has no top face. As a subcase of the ionizer of the patent RU 2090057, the apparatus described in the patent RU 2297758 has the same disadvantage that is a braced structure. The disadvantage lies in the fact that the weather conditions resembling at first sight may be caused by various meteorological conditions (e.g. fogs can differ in source, height and density) and the purposes can differ (e.g. complete or partial fog dispersal, initiation or prevention of precipitation) while performance characteristics of said ionizer are very limited. The specified apparatuses allow changing the operating parameters by controlling voltage and current supplied to electrodes as well the selective use of auxiliary equipment, e.g. a steam generator, an air blower etc.
However, these measures are often ineffective and can not provide a full control of parameters of the created ionized air flow due to a variety of meteorological factors and a dynamic nature of atmospheric processes. The efforts to develop an ionizer being suitable for use in different conditions and being capable of operational adjustment of the created ion flow with a high efficiency without changing its configuration, have not achieved positive results.